


The Knife of War

by LunarEclipse



Series: The Golden Trio [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Blood and Torture, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Flashbacks, Grief/Mourning, Harry Potter Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Hermione Granger Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Implied/Referenced Torture, Multi, Night Terrors, Nightmares, PTSD RECOVERY, Past Torture, Polyamorous Golden Trio, Polyamorous Soulmates, Polyamory, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Ron Weasley Has PTSD - Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Soulmates, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 08:16:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14076732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunarEclipse/pseuds/LunarEclipse
Summary: War was a terrible horrid thing. It was something that destroyed families and killed thousands. It was something that no child should have to go through. No child should be expected to fight, no child should be expected to be the leader of one side of the war. This was wrong. It was wrong. Prophecy or not, what Harry James Potter had been through was a terrible, horrid thing.





	The Knife of War

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, the ending feels super awkward but it's the best I could do.  
> IMPORTANT NOTE!  
> This work deals with graphic (or at least as graphic as I could write) depictions of torture while dealing with blood and knives.  
> I know the incident with Bellatrix didn't happen this way in the books, but it did in my universe. There will be more explained as the series progresses. However, you do not need to read this to continue the series and read any other fics I may come up with later. There may be references to this incident later on but nothing too big.  
> READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.  
> Now that being said, if you guys have any prompts, leave them below and I will get to them eventually. I've been going through a rough time lately so it's hard to pump out fics, but I will get to them! Just please be patient.
> 
> Ps. I really hate Bellatrix, but I think she has a lot of potential as a villain. So she'll play a big part in the implied /referenced torture aspect of this whole series.
> 
> READ ON!

War was a terrible horrid thing. It was something that destroyed families and killed thousands. It was something that no child should have to go through. No child should be expected to fight, no child should be expected to be the leader of one side of the war. This was _wrong._ It was _wrong_ . Prophecy or not, what Harry James Potter had been through was a _terrible, horrid thing._

His whole life had been life or death. Fighting, surviving, battles, scars, _torture, death, screaming, Pain._ It was so hard to remember that Voldemort wasn’t out there anymore. That Bellatrix wasn’t there to lay a finger on any of them. That Neville and Ginny and Luna and Molly and George and Arthur and Kingsley and Teddy were _safe._ That so many others were safe.

Safe was something he had never truly felt. Maybe that sounded sad but in retrospect Harry hadn't needed to feel safe, he hadn’t needed to let his guard down. He should never let his guard down.

Because if he let his guard down, Sirius would fall and Cedric would disappear in a flash of green. Dumbledore would fall and Hermione would _scream_ , Ron would _be bloody, close to losing_ _his arm_ and there would be _pain_ . Pain. Pain. _More Pain, more and more and more and more pain. Pain, pain,pain pain._

_Bellatrix would lean over him with a smirk, a knife held in her hands. Hermione was crying trying to escape her bonds from the corner. Ron was shouting angrily, shackled to the far wall, fear and anger in his eyes. “LET HIM GO!” His voice was ragged and growling.  Hermione had tears and rage in her eyes “No! Harry! Leave him alone!” Her arm was bleeding from the nasty word carved on Bellatrix, from the split skin on her forehead._

_Harry was tied to the cold metal table, fighting desperately as Bellatrix trailed the knife down his bared chest; giggling. “I wonder what Little Bitty Potty’s insides look like” she hummed thoughtfully, tapping the already bloody knife to her chin, her curly hair falling in her insane eyes.  Harry fought harder, his breath escaping in panicked spurts around the gag in his mouth._

_Bellatrix threw her head back and cackled before flinging the knife down and slicing it through the muscle in Harry’s wand arm. “HARRY!” Hermione shrieked her voice cracking as he arched against his bonds struggling not to sob as the knife grazed his bone. Ron was screaming threats at Bellatrix and the witch simply slid the knife through the skin down to his elbow, blood gushing to the ground and soaking Harry’s torso, the thick metallic scent making him gag. The pain making his vision white out._

_The knife was yanked out and he screamed through the gag, blood sliding down his lips as the gag dug into his skin. Bellatrix began humming a song as she started slashing his skin with varying deepness and shallowness.  It hurt, it hurt, it hurt! Why did it hurt so much?!?_

_It burned and his skin bleed. So much_ **_blood!_ **

**_“How does it feel little Potter?”_ **

_Bellatrix smirked at him and licked one of the wounds on his chest, then dug her nails into the gash making him arch and scream against the gag as she tried to pull the wound apart farther and farther. “Harry look at me! Look at me please! We’ll get you out of there!” Hermione begged tears sliding down her cheeks and Harry blinked at her groggily tears sliding from bloodshot emeralds and down his porcelain face, blood soaked and splattered everywhere._

_Bellatrix removed her hand and grabbed his face making him lock eyes with her, he started sobbing against the gag as she smirked at him, licking the knife. Pain was everywhere and Ron and Hermione screamed louder and fought harder as she held the knife up to his eye._

_“Such pretty eyes, may I have them?” she asked faux politeness in her voice. Harry screamed against the gag thrashing so hard the charmed ropes cut into his skin._

_Just as she was about to start carving, the door burst open and she fell unconscious against his chest as an irate Tonks flew in with the rest of the order behind her. "Harry!” Tonks cried shoving Bellatrix off of him and he felt faint, the pain taking over now that he could stop fighting._

_“HARRY! Please hang on! Please, please, please!” A desperate Ron cried as he was let next to him after being freed. Tears were flowing down the redheads face as dozens of voices told him to hang on, to wake up. To...wake up?_

“Harry wake up, please love please! It’s just a dream!” _Ron_.

_Wake up? The pain was so strong. He couldn’t._

“Harry please wake up darling, please I’m begging you, we’re here!” _Hermione._

 _A...dream? A dream._ A dream!

Harry shot up, crying out loudly, shivering harshly, panicked sobs escaping his throat as he trembled like a leaf. He quickly assessed the situation. He was in his room. In his bed. Hermione next to him her arms around him, she’s wearing a pink t-shirt and purple underwear. Ron in front of him gripping his wrists tightly, a worried furrow to his brow, he’s dressed in a simple t-shirt and boxers.

Harry was soaking wet, not from sweat though. He had gashes on his arms and neck from his own nails. Blood was drying on his hands and he wore a tank top and boxers. His hair dripping water down his back.

“Harry?”Hermione breathed and he made a choked off sound “Bell-she- it hurts” He got out, twisting his arms trying to get out of Ron’s grip. “Oh Harry” Hermione breathed and gently ran a calming hand through his hair.  

“Harry look at me” Ron urged and Harry looked up at him shivering and hiccuping through his sobs. “You are at home, in our room. In our bed. Not in the vile room, not with the vile bitch. She’s dead. She can’t hurt you. It’s just me and Hermione, your lovers, your best friends, your other halfs, just us.” He urged his blue eyes burning into Harry.

Gently squeezing Harry’s bloody hand he set the shivering limb against his chest, right where his steady if not slightly panicked heart beat could be felt. “Do you feel that?’ The redhead inquired “I'm here and real” as Hermione squeezed Harry tighter and buried her face in his shoulder kissing the bare scarred shoulder gently. “You feel that? Hermione is real, her lips and her touch are real. That bitch Bellatrix is not” Ron swore. Harry took a long shaky breath and squeezed his eyes shut more tears sliding down his face.

“I-” he was cut off by a gentle shushing from Hermione. “Shh Harry, we are here and we aren’t leaving you, just breath slowly please darling”  Hermione instructed.

Ron watched with sad and slightly angry eyes. The anger at Bellatrix burned brighter than ever at this moment. Almost as much as it did when they learned the knife Bellatrix used was cursed, the wounds couldn't be healed with magic and would leave scars. Ron also felt pride at his lover, he and Hermione had to constantly remind him that the scars didn’t bother them. If Ron was being honest, the scars made him realize how strong the small black haired male was. Considering Harry had fought the last battles with his dominant arm out of action, and the muscles completely cut through.

After the war, he remembered how scared they all were when the doctors were sure Harry’s arm could never be used again. But like always Harry prevailed and did the impossible, he got through the physical therapy and got full use of his arm back, sure, it took him almost two years and he still got the off pain every now and then, but no one could say Harry was weak.

This was one of the more volatile nightmares Harry had, Ron knew he and Hermione had enough nightmares about that week of torture on their own, but add in Harry’s terrors and screams of agony, _that_ made it feel all the more potent. Ron wished he could just pluck all of the pain from Harry as if removing a thorn from someone's foot. Wished he scrub the horrid words and scars from Hermione’s body. Wished he could just cover his ears and not hear their screams anymore, not feel fire and heat licking at his skin constantly.

More than anything Ron wished he could go back in time and warn their younger selves, tell them about the trappers, tell them not to go, to fight, _to kill_ , to do anything so they wouldn’t go to where Bellatrix was. To where she would hold them hostage for a week, wanting to have her own fun before Voldemort came.

Bellatrix had favored fire with Ron and whips with Hermione, she had favored slicing up Harry over and over, with them helpless to do anything.  Clenching his eyes shut, Ron moved in closer gripping one of Hermione's hands and pushing his face into Harry’s soaking wet hair. They had tried to use aguamenti to wake him up, but it wasn’t nearly as effective as usual.

Inhaling deeply, Ron squeezed Hermione's hand; Harry’s scent of the pine shampoo he used and a subtle smell like chamomile calming him down. He felt Harry’s face turned into his collarbone and press a gentle kiss to his chest as he slowly fell back asleep. Ron felt groggy as well and vaguely heard Hermione cast the spell to dry them all off.

Adjusting them so they were lying down Ron buried his face in Harry’s hair while Hermione pressed the black haired males face into her chest, both of them trying to squeeze Harry so tightly. Ron’s last thought before he fell back asleep was that if they squeezed hard enough maybe they could get rid of all their pain and sorrow, maybe these two could swallow him up and he could do the same.

Rubbing a hand on Harry’s stomach and another tangled in Hermione’s hair he smiled softly, idly thinking that he wouldn't mind if these two were the ones two swallow him up.

 _War was a terrible, horrid, thing. It caused pain and destruction. It shed blood and killed thousands. War was terrible. It left scars on the mind and body so deep that they seemed to never heal. To Harry, Hermione, and Ron,_ war _was all of these things. Yet the trio knew that as long as they had each other there was hope. Hope that they could heal, that they could learn to look at their scars and remember, but not **hurt** **.**_

_One day that would be possible, and on that day they would share sweet smiles and sad looks, remembering the pain and fear but also knowing they were safe, and it was over._

_One day._

 

~Fin

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you have any prompts please let me know!  
> I love you all!  
> Have a great day/night!  
> ~Luna


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